Tansitions in "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

The transition from Rationalism to Romanticism and into Realism in American Literature can be seen in Their Eyes Were Watching God in the way that Janie evolves as a woman and falls in love.  Nanny's longing for Janie to live the fairytale love story shows many Americans' open-mindedness to Romanticism.  However, Janie's resistance to getting married represents some Americans' refusal to accept a new way of thinking.  These opposing views on a new time period created a new time period, Romanticism, that was closely followed by another time period, Realism, that was similar to Rationalism.  This resistance to Romanticism accounts for the immediate change back into a more intellectual centered way of life in Realism.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Nanny's longing for Janie to get married represents some Americans' support of a new time period, Romanticism.  These Americans experienced Rationalism and learned to see the world around them through reasoning and logic.  During this time period, Americans examined their lives and developed their own dreams.  The idea of the self-made man emerged during Rationalism, and many Americans thought that they had their life goals set.  However, these Americans did not obtain a sense of fulfillment from this way of life, and longed for a new way of living where they would feel content even if they didn't achieve their goals.  Their answer that would fill this void of fulfillment was love.  Because of this, American Literature transitioned from Rationalism to Romanticism.  This new time period brought about an interest in nature, heightened emotion and imagination, and a rebellion against social rules.  This new way of life allowed Americans to form relationships that were valuable to them just as their individual endeavors were.  Even though many Americans enjoyed this time period, some still resented the change and wanted to go back to a society where the individual's mind and thoughts were valued over emotion and nature.  Because of this, American Literature transitioned from Romanticism to Realism.  This transition can be seen in Their Eyes Were Watching God in the way that Janie eventually realized that love is not for her and chooses to return to the development of her own character and the pursuing of her dreams.